Leica R-Lenses
January 2004
Chapter 7: 28-90 mm lens
__ LEICA VARIO-ELMARIT-R 28-90 MM F/2.8-4.5 ASPH
by Erwin Puts
Chapter 7 Leica R-Lenses 1
__Introduction
The zoomlens as a species of lens design has had a strange
evolution. The first design seems to be the Vario-Glaukar
1:2.8/25-80 mm for 16 mm cine cameras, created by
Siemens around 1936. Especially in movies, the idea of a
smoothly changing rate of magnification is very valuable as
it can dispense of the stationary camera, moving on a trol-
ley over rails. The first patent for a zoomlens is from 1902
by a USA company. The idea of a zoomlens is now more
than a hundred years old. The first zoomlenses for 35 mm
cameras were regarded as toys and even during the eigh-
ties of the previous century the Leica company declared
that zoomlenses would never surpass the image quality of
fixed focal lengths. It is Mr Kölsch who deserves the credit
for two major breakthroughs in Leica lens design: the
aspherical surface and the high quality zoomlens. The semi-
nal LEICA VARIO-ELMARIT-R 35-70 MM F/2.8 ASPH and
the Vario-Apo-Elmarit-R 70-180 mm F/2.8 are the proof in
the pudding: zoomlenses can be as good as fixed focal
lengths.
Nowadays the situation is reversed: it are the fixed focal
lengths that must prove their superiority against the chal-
lenge of the zoomlens. There is no doubt: the zoomlens
does not lend itself to high apertures (in the world of the
digital camera this statement is not true!) and the maxi-
mum aperture is F/2.8. But with current film technology
the best ISO 200 and ISO 400 slide films (and 400 ISO BW
films) can compensate for the one or two stops difference
between fixed focal lengths and zoomlenses.
The zoomlens has a higher number of lens elements that
can all be used to correct the optical aberrations and the
designer has more tools to optimize his design. We know
that with fixed focal lengths there is one optimum distance
(or magnification) for which the lens can be corrected. In
zoomlens design the same principle holds: there is only one
focal length for which the design can be optimized. The
choice is obvious: one can select the medium position, the
wide angle side or the tele side. For the new LEICA VARIO-
ELMARIT-R 28-90 MM F/2.8-4.5 ASPH, Leica has opted for
an optimization of the 50 to 90 mm range.
The designer of a zoomlens has more tools to correct the
lens, but the mechanical design and engineering are more
demanding. There is clearly a difference between assem-
bling a lens with 6 elements in a stationary mount and a
lens with 11 elements in a moving mount. It is already a
hefty task to manufacture and assemble components with a
precision within 0.01 mm consistently. The additional requi-
rement for a zoomlens is that this same level of accuracy
must be maintained with moving components. Leica does
check the precision of the lens with a testcycle of 50.000
movements of the lens mount.
This new Leica zoomlens has a number of innovative featu-
res that elevates zoomlens design to a new level.
It is the first Leica zoomlens that has a zoom range above a
ratio of 1:3, to be exact it is 1:3.214, very close to the
magic mathematical number pi (3.14…).
The second innovation is a new and very elaborate mecha-
nical design for the movement of the lens groups.
The third innovation is the ergonomics: the LEICA VARIO-
ELMARIT-R 28-90 MM F/2.8-4.5 ASPH has one of the
smoothest lensmounts I have touched, considering the fact
that the lens has been made for manual focusing with a
fully mechanical mechanism. The size of the lens is relative-
ly small and fits in between the smaller Vario-Elmar-R 28-70
mm f/3.5-4.5 and the larger Vario-Elmarit-R 35-70 mm
f/2.8 ASPH. That is quite good, given the additional focal
length of 20 mm. The diameter of the lensmount could be
held down by employing quite thin but very stable alumi-
nium tubes. If you press very hard on the distance ring, you
will increase the friction and this phenomenon has caused
some users to question the mechanical stability of the new
generation of zoomlenses. This is not the case, and one
needs to get used to the idea that modern lenses have a
different feel compared to previous generations.
The fourth area where innovations can be detected is the
cosmetics: the lens has a beautiful shape and very impres-
sive black finish.
We may add that the lens has its share of electronics with
the electronic exposure compensation, useable with R8/9.
No news here, but one should see it as a fifth area.
The ROM (electronic data and signal relay) contact ledge
transfers information from the lens (focal length, aperture
compensation and vignetting data) to the camera for cor-
rect exposure determination and flash settings (zoom
reflector).
Chapter 7 Leica R-Lenses 2
__Zoomrange
The choice of focal lengths is very practical. Many years
ago Canon has analysed thousands of photographs and
concluded that the most often used apertures and speeds
are 1:8 and 1/125 and that the most used focal lengths
were within the 28 mm and 90 mm range. If we believe
these studies, the new Leica lens would cover the most
used range of focal lengths with one zoom movement.
This Leica lens is a fine addition to the expanding range of
Vario-lenses, but it cannot be a jack of all trades.
A macro facility is not available, but can be found in the
companion lens Vario-Elmar-R 35-70 mm f/4 . And for most
applications, the near focus limit of 0.6 meter on the 90
mm position may suffice. The aperture range from 1:2.8 to
1:4.5 has enough speed for current high quality medium
speed films. One would have hoped for a slightly wider
aperture at the telephoto side of the zoomrange. But that
wish would have clashed with the desire for a compact lens.
Remember that the famous Vario-Elmarit-R 35-70 mm f/2.8
had a front diameter of 88 mm and extrapolating this to the
90 mm position, one would have to live with a lens with a
diameter in the neighbourhood of 120 mm and a much hig-
her weight due to the proportionally heavier glass lenses.
The aperture ring has numbers from 2.8 to 22 and one
should be aware that this range only holds for the focal
lengths from 28 to35 mm.
The 50 mm aperture starts at 3.4 and the 90 mm at 4.5.
If you are at the 90 mm position, the aperture setting of 2.8
corresponds to 4,5 and the 22 is in fact 36.
One should be careful when using a handheld meter or
when one uses the A-setting and wants to select a specific
aperture. It is easiest to use the aperture indication in the
finder.
__ LEICA VARIO-ELMARIT-R 28-90 MM F/2.8-4.5 ASPH
Chapter 7 Leica R-Lenses 3
__Optical demands and mechanical con-
struction
The design has 11 elements in 8 groups and employs two
aspherical surfaces, one at the first surface of the front ele-
ment and one at the second surface of the last element,
incidentally the same as in the original Noctilux 50 mm
f/1.2.
The lens has three moving groups that are being guided in
milled slots with a precision of 0.010 to 0.005 mm.
The challenge for the Leica engineers was to design a lens
that had to fit into three dimensions of requirements: per-
formance, haptics and cosmetics. These dimensions are
partly at conflict with each other. And we have to add anot-
her dimension, that is the manufacture of the lens. In this
area Leica has learned a lot from the previous designs. The
main problem area is the narrow tolerance band for the
manufacture and assembly. The lens consists of eleven lens
elements, that are precision grinded and have a surface tre-
atment to reduce surface irregularities to a sub micron
level, in fact here we are talking about tolerances at the
nanometer scale (0.001 micron). To deliver the required and
calculated performance, the lens element must be fitted
into the mount without any stress, as the slightest strain on
the lens will deform the surface and produce unwanted
optical aberrations. One should be aware that the accurate
and strain free mounting of the lens elements is a big chal-
lenge. There are additional challenges too: a lens element
needs to be blackened at the sides to reduce the possibility
of flare. This is accomplished by painting the sides of the
lens with a black paint, still done by hand by experienced
workers. But a thick (relatively speaking!) elastic layer
implies that the lens could move ever so slightly within the
mount. One solution might be to press the glass element
into its mount, but too much pressure is not good at all. So
one has to carefully balance the thickness of the layer of
paint with the requirement of a strain free fitting.
In the area of lens grinding and shaping we are operating
on a nanometer dimension. The jump from this optical
dimension to the mechanical dimension of the mount and
the accuracy of assembly is a jump from nanometer scale
to micrometer scale (0.001 mm), but this micrometer scale
is still incredibly small. And the designer must be aware of
this jump to assure that his calculations can be met in the
realm of manual assembly, even when using sophisticated
instruments to check the precision of the assembly. The
new zoomlens has more than 40 main mechanical parts
(excluding the elements and electronics and the aperture
mechanism) that have to be assembled with a precision of
0.010 to 0.005 mm.
One of the biggest problem areas in lens assembly is the
possible decentring of lens elements. Decentring of lens
elements can be a tilt or a lateral displacement (relative to
the optical axis) and will occur almost always during lens
assembly unless one can work with very narrow tolerances.
Most optical programs have a special module to study the
effects of decentring and can indicate how much decen-
tring is allowable before one sees a deterioration of the
image quality.
Decentring in general brings loss of contrast and more
astigmatism. A special construction is required to ensure
that the very tight tolerances that this lens demand (due to
the mechanical and optical constraints of a 1:3 zoomrange).
The manufacture of parts can never be done in a zero-tole-
rance environment. Therefore a certain amount of tolerance
in the system must be accepted. In general one can appro-
ach this problem in three ways: one can allow for adjust-
ments during the assembly process and try to pair
plus/minus parts to get the correct fit (old Leitz method),
one can do a Monte Carlo statistical analysis to investigate
where the most sensitive problem areas are and distribute
the problematic aspect through the system by relaxing the
constraint (Zeiss method of relaxation) and now Leica uses
a third method. This is the method of mechanical compen-
sators that are part of the mechanical construction and are
already taken into account at the stage of optical design
and calculation. This is the novel idea. Compensators them-
selves are not new as a technique. In this case the lens ele-
ment can be displaced by a small amount by a mechanical
movement before being fixed in place. The displacement is
controlled by a MTF measurement at a very high scale of
magnification
New too is the approach to design the lens optically and
mechanically at the same time and in full interaction. The
designer must be aware what is possible at the assembly
stage as he cannot demand the impossible from the people
during their work. The optical calculations are optimized to
selected because the surface reacts quite well to the black
anodizing process
(see image 1)
.
The result of all this effort is a lens with a very smooth
movement of the focusing ring and focal length selection.
With quite sensitive fingers one can feel some instances of
friction when you go from 90 mm to 28 mm, so perfection
is always relative.
__Optical considerations
The general image quality of this lens is of a very high
order. Leica characterizes the lens as a travel and general
purpose lens. This is undoubtedly true, but I would add that
the performance of the LEICA VARIO-ELMARIT-R 28-90 MM
F/2.8-4.5 ASPH does support professional photography of
a very high calibre.
At 28 mm and full aperture (2.8) we have a high contrast
image that can record above 150 Lp/mm in the centre of
the image and more than 80 lp/mm in the outer zones
(see
image 2)
. Only the corners are weak with a soft recording
Chapter 7 Leica R-Lenses 4
allow the people at the assembly line to hand adjust the
compensator mechanism in such a way that the lens is
always at optimum performance. Every single lens is being
checked to perform as designed and especially the aspheri-
cal elements are very carefully adjusted. The result is a
much lower tolerance band than would normally be possi-
ble. The care that is being lavished on the quality of the
assembly can be read off from the time needed: it takes a
worker more than two hours to assemble the lens. This
close cooperation between design and assembly is one of
the main causes for the consistently high quality of the
Leica lenses and has now been brought to a new level. The
assembly and adjustment instructions are part of the final
lens design and the design is adapted to what is the best
assembly practice.
No two lenses that leave the factory are absolutely identi-
cal. There is always some tolerance during manufacture.
The factory must set the lower limits of the performance
that they can accept as being within the requirements as
specified by the designers. A long as these requirements
are met, a lens will be accepted by quality assurance. With
the construction of the LEICA VARIO-ELMARIT-R 28-90 MM
F/2.8-4.5 ASPH the statistical distribution within the tole-
rance range is significantly reduced.
Zoomlenses are difficult to manufacture to narrow toleran-
ces because of the lens groups that have to move in a com-
plicated path. Normally one uses a mount with guiding slots
that govern the movements of the lens groups in relation to
each other.
In most cases there are two or three slits and they are mil-
led in the mount as open holes, in which the guiding rollers
move. With open slits, however, the structural integrity of
the mount can suffer, but with two slits and sufficiently
thick walls, there is no problem. The price you have to pay
is a heavy lens. One of the requirements for the new lens
was its low weight. In this LEICA VARIO-ELMARIT-R 28-90
MM F/2.8-4.5 ASPH we have three moving groups and the-
refore three guiding grooves. Now we cannot use the nor-
mal construction. (too heavy and/or too fragile). To ensure
the necessary stability, one cannot use the open slit
method, but must use internal grooves that can only be cut
by special CNC machinery that Leica developed in coopera-
tion with Weller, the leading manufacturer of this type of
CNC tools. The milling movement creates a surface rough-
ness that has to be smoothed to a tolerance depth of 0.01
mm to ensure that the guiding rollers move with the same
resistance over the whole range. The mount of the new lens
is made of quite thin and very high-grade aluminium that is
specially selected to have the required stability. It is also
(image 1)
of fine detail. Stopping down to 5.6 the performance of the
centre now extends over an image circle of 12 mm diameter
(see image 3)
. There is no trace of astigmatism and a
slight field curvature. Some colour fringing is visible at very
high magnifications. Distortion is visible with -3% (barrel
distortion) and so is vignetting at 2.5 stops
(see image 4)
.
At 35 mm and full aperture (2.8) there is a small improve-
ment in the outer zones where the lens now records 100
lp/mm with good micro-contrast
(see image 5)
. Distortion
now is about -1%. At 5.6 we have optimum performance
with a crisp rendition of very fine detail over most of the
image area
(see image 6)
. Vignetting is practically gone
(see image 7)
.
At 50 mm and full aperture (3.4) we see a very high con-
trast and an exceptionally high resolving power of more
than 150 lp/mm over a large section of the negative. There
is still some faint colour fringing, but in practice one would
be very hard pressed to note it
(see image 8 and 10)
. At
5.6 we have impeccable performance that easily surpasses
the quality of the Summicron 50 mm lens, especially in the
outer zones of the field
(see image 9)
.
At 70 mm and full aperture (4) the image quality becomes
superb and we have an extremely high contrast and a very
crisp definition of the finest details
(see image 11)
.
Stopping down to 5.6 does improve edge contrast and now
the corners are quite good too
(see image 12)
. Distortion
is 1% (pincushion) and vignetting negligible
(see image 13)
.
At 90 mm and full aperture (4.5) the best performance is
reached and compared to the 70 mm position the outer
zones and corners are now as good as the centre of the
image
(see image 14)
. Vignetting is gone and distortion is
very low with 1%. The low distortion at the tele side of the
zoomrange is quite remarkable. Often the behaviour of
zoomlenses can be characterized as good in the middle
range and weaker at both extremes
(see image 15 and
16)
.
Chapter 7 Leica R-Lenses 5
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100
[%]
Aperture Stop 2.8
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
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40
60
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100
[%]
Aperture Stop 5.6
image 2
image 3
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
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3
4
5
[%]
Relative Distortion
image 4
Chapter 7 Leica R-Lenses 7
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
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[%]
Aperture Stop 2.8
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
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[%]
Aperture Stop 5.6
image 5
image 6
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
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3
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[%]
Relative Distortion
image 7
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
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80
100
[%]
Aperture Stop 3.4
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
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60
80
100
[%]
Aperture Stop 5.6
image 8
image 9
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5
[%]
Relative Distortion
image 10
Chapter 7 Leica R-Lenses 8
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100
[%]
Aperture Stop 4.0
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100
[%]
Aperture Stop 5.6
image 11
image 12
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
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3
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5
[%]
Relative Distortion
image 13
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
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100
[%]
Aperture Stop 4.5
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
0
20
40
60
80
100
[%]
Aperture Stop 5.6
image 14
image 15
0 5 10 15 20
Y'[mm]
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5
[%]
Relative Distortion
image 16
Chapter 7 Leica R-Lenses 9
This is a lens with amazing characteristics. It offers outstan-
ding quality and can be compared very favourably to the
fixed focal lengths. A detailed comparison with the equiva-
lent fixed focal lengths is possible based on the published
graphs in earlier chapters and in the lens data sheets, avai-
lable separately. The reader can do this him/herself.
The comparison with the Apo-Summicron-R 90 mm f/2
ASPH is interesting and does indicate where the advantages
of fixed focal lengths may be found. A careful study of the
properties of the individual lenses does help making the
correct selection. The Apo-Summicron-R delivers at full
aperture (1:2) the same performance as the Vario-Elmarit-R
at the 90 mm focal length at f/4.5.
The Apo lens has a two stop advantage here. The greater
depth of field and the more effective reduction of internal
reflections (smaller lens diameters!) give the pictures with
the Vario lens a smoother quality. With the Apo lens the
sharpness plane is clearly isolated from the rest of the
image and the unsharpess gradient is steeper. Stopping
down the Apo-Summicron-R to 1:4 will make the differen-
ces disappear of course.
In general the fixed focal lengths will be more compact and
offer a higher speed per focal length. Stopped down there
is no longer a big difference and compared to older lens
generations, the zoomlens often has better imagery in the
outer zones of the image.
The images made with the LEICA VARIO-ELMARIT-R 28-90
MM F/2.8-4.5 ASPH have a very good colour fidelity, a very
fine pictorial depth and realism. This is a lens for slide film
and if you have not yet tried slide film, the acquisition of
this lens might be a good incentive to try these films.
The wide zoomrange from 28 to 90 mm highlights another
property of the reflex system: the normal finder screen of
the R8/9 is a bit too dark at the 90 mm position and it is
difficult to focus accurately at the 28 mm position. Here
lies a new job for the engineers at Solms! Focussing at the
wide angle range is often not very critical as depth of field
will cover slight errors. If accurate focus is required, it is
best to focus at 70 mm and zoom to 28 mm (or 90 mm and
zoom to 35 mm).
In this range, focus constancy is abolutely spot on. Current
Leica lenses score high marks in the areas of contrast and
definition and reproduction of very fine detail. These cha-
racteristics can be inferred from the published MTF graphs,
as long as you try not to read too much out of these
graphs. One very critical area where the MTF can not provi-
de information is the propensity to flare in its several
aspects.
LEICA VARIO-ELMARIT-R 28-90 MM F/2.8-4.5 ASPH
image: Oliver Richter
Chapter 7 Leica R-Lenses 10
__Flare properties
I made a special study of the flare properties of the lens, as
this is the one area where lenses have to go 'a bout de
souffle'. Veiling glare is hardly visible at all focal lengths,
implying there is no loss of contrast when the background
is much brighter than the subject itself. When the sun is
obliquely shining into the lens, and is behind the subject,
one can see some secondary reflections of small extent in
the picture, but the well-known diaphragm blade reflections
are not visible. With the sun flooding the image, there is of
course a bleaching out of the picture details, but in such a
situation one would change the position slightly to evade
this direct confrontation with the sun.
In general I would say that for veiling glare the lens is better
than the average Leica lens, and for secondary reflections it
is slightly better.
__Conclusion
The new lens is an outstanding performer at all focal
lengths. The compact size, the ergonomics and the perfor-
mance are all balanced into what economists call a Pareto
optimum. Any change in one of the parameters will degrade
the quality of the whole. This actual image quality can only
be guaranteed during production and assembly where the
very tight tolerances and adjustment methods demand
workmanship of the highest level.
The image quality of the LEICA VARIO-ELMARIT-R 28-90
MM F/2.8-4.5 ASPH is generally above what one expects
from high grade fixed focal lengths and the focal length
range secures it a premium role in the Leica R lens range.
LEICA VARIO-ELMARIT-R 28-90 MM F/2.8-4.5 ASPH
image: Oliver Richter
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